News

Reactor storage facility at Russian Far East will cost $80m

Publish date: August 31, 2005

The construction of the storage facility for the empty reactor units from nuclear submarines in Razboynik Bay at the Far East will cost not less $80m, said Viktor Akhunov, head of Federal Nuclear Agency’s ecology and decommissioning department.

It was earlier reported that Russia is already building such a facility using own resources at the Pacific Fleet, Novosti-online reported. However, the allocated sums do not allow to complete the construction in time, therefore Rosatom has offered the Japanese Government to contribute to the project.


Because Russia has no onshore facility for storing decommissioned submarine reactors, the practice is to cut three-compartment sections out of the submarines – the reactor compartment in the middle, flanked by compartments on either side that provide buoyancy. The three-compartment sections, welded with steel sheets over each end, are stored afloat.


According to Akhunov, Japanese representatives will give their answer this Autumn. At the moment 120 nuclear submarines have been taken out of operation, 120 of them were dismantled till three-compartment sections, where later the reactor compartment will be cut out and placed on the onshore storage facility.